This part of our backyard used to be sorta swampy, but my husband built a french drain to dry things up, and now we are making it into a little garden paradise. We've got strawberries, tomatoes, watermelons, peas, carrots, mona lisa lilies, yellow roses, morning glories, poppies, echinacea, mammoth sunflowers, a bird bath that we made, and this fun little path that leads back to a nice shady Kid hang-out. I am so excited to see it all take shape, and the children LOVE playing and working in it already.

Have a told you about our Mennonite best friends yet?

We are close friends with a family of Mennonites. They are sort of like Amish, but they use electricity and some other distinct differences. I LOVE spending time with them. They are so sweet and genuine, hard-working and loyal, and they are humble followers of Christ. I love them. I would consider adapting their lifestyle, but I don't think I could live without make-up. And the one time they let me milk one of their cows kind of grossed me out. I still like milk though, don't get me wrong. Anyway, they are dairy farmers. They grow all their own food. They once asked us if our religion "taught farming". My husband said "no", but I quickly corrected him. Yes, our religion teaches that we should plant a garden, learn how to grow, harvest, prepare and store our own food.

So, it might not be one of the 10 commandments, per se...but working with your hands in the soil, creating with it, caring for God's green earth, is very enriching to the soul and good for the mind and body.

Thanks to my Dad who showed me by example what joy can come from gardening!

We have a HUGE garden! We have 14 tomato plants, peas, beans, beets, carrots, radish, pumpkins, cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, onions, and herbs. It's a ton of work but soooo worth it! I'll have to take a picture of it and post it on my blog! I can't wait to can some salsa and other things!

We LOVE to garden! We have planted right now corn, beans, (also beans inside that we are growing), zuccini, yellow squash, strawberries, rubarb, parsely, basil, tomatoes (LOTS OF TOMATOES!), cucumbers, lettuce, pumpkins, and I think that's it that I can remember! Chris LOVES it so much and we like the fruits of his labor a lot! hehehe

My parents, brother's family, sister's family, and our family all rented a little family plot locally. So now we have our backyard garden that we tend on a regular basis and then we meet on Monday nights to take care of our family garden. It has been really good for the kids to work alongside cousins, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. And I'm really looking forward to the harvest.

wow, I saw that photo of your kid garden and it looked like something I have done, with the stepping stone and such. I love it. I just planted some tomatoes, peppers and herbs in some large pots. I totally agree about how good it feels to get out there in the soil. Its a great work in progress you have there.

What a great idea to do a kids garden. I remember when I was little my brother and I drew up this elaborate plan for our own personal garden, complete with a white picket fence, a fountain and door handle for the gate shaped like a daisy. Maybe I should try to resurrect that idea for my kids :) Thanks for the uplifting blog.